Natural rights of a person are a combination of certain principles and privileges that he receives from birth. Such categories are integral. In philosophy, natural rights are opposed to positive. The second concept denotes the totality of the privileges of each person, fixed by law. So, in this publication we will talk about natural and positive rights. The concepts, types, concepts and meaning are presented below.
What is natural law?
Natural rights are a set of freedoms that are inherent in every person from birth. These values are not associated with the state, they are recognized by each institution and are considered inalienable. In jurisprudence, this category is the opposite of positive law.
There are 3 main features of natural law:
- Inalienability. Natural rights and freedoms of man cannot be taken away or limited. The state is called upon only to regulate the embodiment of these values and guarantee their implementation.
- Belonging to a person from birth.
- Significance. Natural rights embody the most significant social values.
Types of Natural Rights
In different historical eras, natural rights were divided into categories. In general, general concepts that are characteristic for all stages of the development of this theory cannot be distinguished.
Today, natural human rights are divided into the following types:
- The right to live. This category is often referred to as natural biological rights. Today, human life is the highest social value protected by the state.
- The right to freedom. In this case, the concept of “freedom” means the ability to do something that does not contradict the law and does not violate certain rules established in society.
- The right to dignity of the individual. This category also belongs to moral values. The dignity of the individual is the right to respect and self-esteem, as well as the obligation to respect others.
- The right to property. Everyone can own property.
- The right to security of person. The principle that a person cannot be imprisoned without good reason (for example, the commission of a criminal offense).
What is positive law?
The natural law theory of law is based on the recognition of the existence of two types of law: natural and positive.
Positive (positive) law is a set of generally binding norms recognized by the state and operating within its borders. In jurisprudence, this category is considered as a system of principles embodied at the legislative level.
Today, natural and positive law are opposed to each other. Positive privileges are established by the state, controlled and guaranteed through regulatory legal acts. Natural rights are inherent in man from the moment of his birth. They do not depend on the will of anyone.
Positive law features
This category has a number of features:
- Formality. These are legal acts issued by the state in the prescribed manner. Such decisions are necessarily recorded in regulatory legal acts.
- Generally binding. Positive law is designed to regulate public relations in a particular state.
- Truthfulness. The rules of law recorded in laws can be used to resolve social conflicts and solve everyday problems.
Natural and positive law are opposed to each other.At the same time, they form a kind of symbiosis - the unity of opposites. Positive rights are not always inherent in a person from birth, unlike natural ones. Citizens of the state receive such privileges only with the adoption of certain regulatory legal acts.
The concept of "natural law" in the ancient era
The first attempts to distinguish between natural and positive rights were made in the ancient era.
According to the earliest mythological and religious views of the Greeks, the entire earthly structure goes back to a superhuman source (i.e., established by the gods). However, already from the V century. BC e. law is interpreted as a result of the actions of people. Sophists argued that all laws owe their origin to man.
The famous ancient Greek philosopher Socrates argued that there are two types of law. There are unwritten divine laws that everyone knows and strictly follows them. At the same time, there are laws established by man.
This idea was also previously developed in the writings of Democritus. The philosopher argued that natural laws, that is, divine, exist "in truth." Positive rights were considered as those established according to the “common opinion”.
In Roman times, lawyers, along with civil and popular law, singled out natural law.
Natural Theories in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, the theory of natural law, put forward by the ancient Greek philosophers, continues to develop.
Thomas Aquinas (Italian philosopher) in his work "Sum of theology" considered the concept of "eternal law." He identified two types of "eternal law": divine and human. The first category was considered as a means of divine control of the world. Human law was recognized as necessary. However, Thomas Aquinas believed that he must be limited to conscience.
Theory of Natural Law G. Grotius
The heyday of the theory of natural law occurs at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. Its founder is the Dutch scientist Hugo Grotius. He is the author of the treatise On the Law of War and Peace. Three books. "
Hugo Grotius in his work identified two main types of law: natural and volitional. The first was defined by him as a "prescription of sound mind." According to Grotius, natural rights had one source - the human mind. He divided the volitional laws into three categories: established by God, the state and the people.
Grotius recognized the equality of all people from birth. Accordingly, he said that natural law comes from the laws of nature, and does not depend on divine will. In addition, G. Grotius argued that the state is a contractual union of free people, concluded for the observance of established procedures.
The rationalistic school of natural law, created by G. Grotius, developed in subsequent eras.
Theories of natural law in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
The characteristic of natural law developed by G. Grotius was accepted by many scholars of the Enlightenment. Following this, new concepts began to appear, which were often used to criticize feudal orders.
Charles Louis Montesquieu is one of the most prominent representatives of the French Enlightenment. He is the author of the treatise On the Spirit of Laws. In his work, Sh. L. Montesquieu cited his rationalist interpretation of law. Natural rights flow logically from a person’s device. Accordingly, laws are nothing but the human mind.
Another prominent figure in the Enlightenment who developed the theory of natural rights was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He introduced a new concept - “common will”. Every law of the state is an act of common will. Natural law was examined by J.-J. Russo as the absolute and inalienable power of the whole people. The philosopher argued that individual citizens of the state should not be endowed with such privileges.
Concepts of Natural Law in the New Age
Thomas Hobbes is an English philosopher and political scientist. His most famous work, Leviathan, is based on a study of the nature and passions of man. Thomas Hobbes argued that people are characterized by hostility, distrust, selfishness and envy. These characteristics determine the "natural state" of a person and lead to endless wars, mutual destruction. Out of this situation, Thomas Hobbes saw the conclusion of a social contract and the establishment of laws by the state that control the activities of citizens.
Another prominent natural law theorist is Benedict Spinoza. He was engaged in the development of such philosophical concepts as “substance”, “attribute”, “thinking”, “causality”, “affects”, etc. By natural law, Spinoza understood the necessity, in connection with which certain natural events take place. He argued that freedom is a submission to an equal and fair law for all people.
The concept of natural law J. Maritain
Considering the theory of natural law of modern times, it is worth paying attention to the concept of J. Maritain. Jacques Maritain - one of the most prominent representatives of Neo-Thomism, a French theologian, professor at the University of Washington. He created and developed a personalistic concept of natural law. It is based on ideas about the divine origin of the state. In general, such ideas were characteristic of the followers of neo-Thomism - the teachings of Thomas Aquinas. Jacques Maritain argued that natural law is formed from eternal law. He examined this concept from two points of view: ontological and epistemological.
It should be noted that Jacques Maritain opposed his concept of rationalist theory. In his understanding, natural law is the ideal course of action for a person to which positive laws and their implementation must comply.
Modern concepts of natural rights
The modern natural-legal theory of law recognizes the existence, along with positive law, of an ideal order of human relations. In fact, state laws can be legitimate only when they do not contradict ideal (natural) rights. These include all inalienable freedoms.
In general, modern concepts of law can be divided into three groups:
- sociological;
- Catholic
- philosophical.
Sociological theories are based on a scientific approach to the substantiation of natural rights. Leading representatives of this school analyze facts to summarize knowledge of aspirations and human freedoms. Sociological theories are most developed in the United States and Western Europe.
Catholic concepts of natural rights are developed in those states where the Catholic Church occupies a leading position. These theories are based on the ideas of Thomas Aquinas and other theologians of the Middle Ages.
Philosophical concepts are developing in Western European countries. As a rule, they are neo-Kantian in nature. Representatives of the philosophical school of law develop their ideas based on Kant's views on the field of morality and law.
